Green Terrors are underrated.
- Thread starter rumblesushi
- Start date
I love GT's, they are my favorite cichlid. I currently have 2, a 3" male (I think) and a 5 inch female (thanks Lepomis). Hopefully after I fatten up the male and throw them in the 125, I'll have a breeding pair. I have some crappy pics of my beasts that I'll have to post later.
They are pretty common here. I guess there are alot of people breeding them in their tanks and selling them back to the fish stores. At least thats what my LFS told me. They go quick though. Usually gone within a week of stocking them.
BTW it's funny you say that REC, about the aggression and jaw power. My little GT killed a ctenopoma and nicaraguensis, and just the other day half killed a salvini. I rescued the salvini in time and it's in a hospital tank now.
Sushi i was comparing them to fish such as Salvin's(Awesome Teeth), RD's, Trimacs, RedTerrors,Jags etc.....You still have alot to understand with large cichlids, GT'S and JD's are very slow growers and once they hit 6" there growth slows down rapidly. It will take 3yrs. for one to hit adult size and in some cases longer. When GT'S are small they can be quite aggressive but when you put them with other aggressive species they just get kicked around and there are alot of experienced members on this forumn that will agree. I have my male with 2 oscars and a Ornate Bichir.......I've tried to keep GT'S with RD's, Jags and Trimacs but they always got beat up and they are to beautiful of a fish to be all nipped up like that.....
Sushi i was comparing them to fish such as Salvin's(Awesome Teeth), RD's, Trimacs, RedTerrors,Jags etc.....You still have alot to understand with large cichlids, GT'S and JD's are very slow growers and once they hit 6" there growth slows down rapidly. It will take 3yrs. for one to hit adult size and in some cases longer. When GT'S are small they can be quite aggressive but when you put them with other aggressive species they just get kicked around and there are alot of experienced members on this forumn that will agree. I have my male with 2 oscars and a Ornate Bichir.......I've tried to keep GT'S with RD's, Jags and Trimacs but they always got beat up and they are to beautiful of a fish to be all nipped up like that.....
Heres the last pic i took of my male when he was about 3.5-4" like 5 months ago. I will post some new pics of him soon.......
Here's a pic of my lil GT I have had him about 2 months and he is growing about .5"-.75" per month. (as far as savage pics go this is a freakin picasso 
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)REC - aren't you surprised that it defeated a slightly larger male Red Terror though? In it's hometown, now it's in the festae's backyard it's getting chased around like no tomorrow 
But still - they fought properly, non stop, and the GT got the better of it.
Put it this way REC, I don't have as much experience with cichlids as you and many others, I have more exp. with channas and characins and misc' oddballs, but I've never had a cichlid kill another fish before this. I own a 6 inch male loisellei who is not that aggressive, less aggressive than this little GT was in the smaller tank. I've also had a few oscars, jag, friedrichsthallii, dovii, tilapia mariae etc
I also have a 6 inch dempsey that used to be an absolute pyscho and battered most of my other fish, but now it's totally cool. The 2 most aggressive cichlids I have now are the 2 terrors. The little salvini I have used to be extremely aggressive until one day a firemouth fought back, then the salvini became the whipping boy of the GT and firemouth.
Are Gt's kind of like dempseys then in that they're more aggressive when young and chill out as they grow?
BTW yours is a nice one, I like the prominent mask, and the bold uniform markings on the side and the thick orange on the tail. Mine is smaller and chubbier with less colour on the side and tail, but loads of orange on the dorsal fin.
Also although the green terror is a really pretty, charming little fish I do prefer my festae slightly. He's certainly not spectacular looking now at 3" but he's very funny, and has a lot of personality, more than any of my other cichlids actually.
But still - they fought properly, non stop, and the GT got the better of it.Put it this way REC, I don't have as much experience with cichlids as you and many others, I have more exp. with channas and characins and misc' oddballs, but I've never had a cichlid kill another fish before this. I own a 6 inch male loisellei who is not that aggressive, less aggressive than this little GT was in the smaller tank. I've also had a few oscars, jag, friedrichsthallii, dovii, tilapia mariae etc
I also have a 6 inch dempsey that used to be an absolute pyscho and battered most of my other fish, but now it's totally cool. The 2 most aggressive cichlids I have now are the 2 terrors. The little salvini I have used to be extremely aggressive until one day a firemouth fought back, then the salvini became the whipping boy of the GT and firemouth.
Are Gt's kind of like dempseys then in that they're more aggressive when young and chill out as they grow?
BTW yours is a nice one, I like the prominent mask, and the bold uniform markings on the side and the thick orange on the tail. Mine is smaller and chubbier with less colour on the side and tail, but loads of orange on the dorsal fin.
Also although the green terror is a really pretty, charming little fish I do prefer my festae slightly. He's certainly not spectacular looking now at 3" but he's very funny, and has a lot of personality, more than any of my other cichlids actually.
Generally, the Gold Saum and Silver Saum are not as aggresive as some of the more aggresive SA cichilds but it still depends on individual fishes. The real McCoy is the 'true' GT. Pic of the 'true' GT from Jeff Rapps' site http://www.tangledupincichlids.com/images/riv8.jpg
